Yankees to announce $800 million ballpark plans

[NT80]

New Jets stadium announced ($1.3 Bil), new Mets stadium announced, now this......

Subject: Yankees to announce $800 million ballpark plans

Yankees to Announce New Ballpark Plans

By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer

The New York Yankees will announce detailed plans Wednesday for a new $800 million ballpark, which would be built adjacent to the current Yankee Stadium and could be ready by the 2009 season.

The team has spent years planning the new stadium, which will have a capacity of at least 50,800 — approximately 6,000 seats fewer than the current ballpark — but could be expanded to about 54,000. It would be constructed in Macombs Dam Park, to the north of the current stadium, and financed by the team.

Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923, is the third-oldest park in use in the major leagues, younger only than Boston's Fenway Park (1912) and Chicago's Wrigley Field (1914). Yankee Stadium was renovated extensively in 1974-75, but the team has long desired a modern ballpark with more luxury suites and wider concourses.

The stadium plan calls for the new ballpark to resemble the original Yankee Stadium in many of its details, and the dimensions of the playing field would be identical to the current ballpark. It would have 50-60 suites, up from 1 in the current stadium.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, New York Gov. George Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg planned to attend the news conference, spokesman Howard Rubenstein said. The Yankees hope to start construction in 2006 and move into the new ballpark in 2009, a timetable that would be ambitious given the delays that frequently occur in construction in New York.

Approval of the state Legislature and the City Council is necessary. The state would contribute about $70 million to increase parking from 7,000 spaces to 11,000, and the city would replace the lost parkland as part of the deal. A new commuter train station and expanded ferry terminal also is part of the plan.

Just last weekend, the city and the Mets announced plans for a new $600 million ballpark next to Shea Stadium. That facility would be used for the 2012 Olympics the International Olympic Committee votes July 6 to award the event to New York.

That plan was drawn up after last week's collapse of the proposal to build a retractable-roof stadium in Manhattan for the NFL's Jets and the Olympics.

The Yankees and New York City's government agreed several weeks ago to a memorandum of understanding for the new Bronx ballpark. The team will pay for the stadium on its own, and the cost of paying off the bonds used to raise the money will be deducted from the Yankees' locally generated revenue. That will lower the Yankees' revenue sharing payments to the commissioner's office.

[GreenBrigadeDebbie]

I know how to fund the stadium. Tell A-Rod to give up a game's salary to pay for the stadium.

[Coach]

I know how to fund the stadium.  Tell A-Rod to give up a game's salary to pay for the stadium. 

He makes 129,600,000,000 a year?

[emmitt01]

Actually Deb A-Rod makes 25,000,000/162= 154,320.98

Not enough for a stadium but still roughly 3 times what I make in a year.

[GreenBrigadeDebbie]

Actually Deb A-Rod makes 25,000,000/162= 154,320.98 

Not enough for a stadium but still roughly 3 times what I make in a year.

I know what A-Rod makes. I was trying to be funny. It just seems like he makes that much. Try not to give me such a hard time....sheesh...if I didn't know you guys better, my feelings would be hurt...

[CAV]

To read more on this go to this link! I wish they would go back to the original 1923 Stadium "The House that Ruth Built"! I would like to see what the copper facade or frieze looked like when it was new. I understand it was very ornate at the time. The copper facade was taken away during the mid-70's remodel, but some of the frieze is still used today in the big wall behind the right field seats.

New Yankee Stadium Pictures

Edited June 17, 2005 by CAV